'I speak at length about Egypt," writes Herodotus in The Histories, "because it contains more marvellous things than any other country, things too strange for words." Herodotus was fascinated by the river Nile, and the statues and the monuments, and the fertile plain, and the country's extraordinary history, customs, institutions. And, of course, its rulers.

First, and to be clear, the word "pharaoh" derives from the Greek word for "great house" (per-aa). It originally described the royal court or state but is now used to describe the ancient Egyptian kings. The pharaohs were not all one continuous family – Pharaoh and Sons – any more than British kings and queens are all one continuous family.

Perhaps the most famous Egyptian dynasty was the 19th – there were dozens of dynasties in total, with Ptolemy XV, known as Caesarion, reigning as the last pharaoh with his mother Cleopatra, 44-30BC.

The 19th dynasty was established by Paramessu, who ruled as Ramesses I. Paramessu was not of royal blood – he was a high priest and a soldier, and appointed pharaoh by his predecessor, Horemheb, who was also a soldier, and who had no heir. Ramesses' reign lasted for barely a year (1295-1294BC) before he died and was succeeded by his son, Sety I, in turn succeeded by Ramesses II. He was known as Ramesses the Great and he was – certainly in his own estimation, but also in that of many others – the greatest pharaoh of all. It is worth pointing out that Tutankhamun, the famous pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, is renowned for his tomb rather than for his reign.

In Early Dynastic Egypt (1999), Toby Wilkinson describes how the Egyptian kings were "at the pinnacle of a national government, responsible for the entire land of Egypt and its people. As the sole source of authority, the king symbolised Egypt itself, and was responsible for maintaining and defending the Egyptian way of life. He acted as intermediary between the population and their gods, and was himself the embodiment of the supreme celestial deity, Horus."

Ramesses II relished the role. He reigned for almost 67 years, during which time he undertook a massive building programme, erecting palaces, temples and statues, or simply stamping his mark – cartouche – on the palaces, temples and statues of others. The so-called Ramesseum at Thebes, near the current city of Luxor, was Ramesses' memorial temple. The massive granite head in the British Museum, known as the Younger Memnon, is part of a statue of Ramesses from the Ramesseum, hauled to London by the explorer Belzoni in the early 1800s.

As well as setting out to deify himself, Ramesses II consolidated his power and secured his succession by embarking on numerous military campaigns, and fathering many children. Many, many children: he had about 100. He had seven official royal wives, including Nefertari – who should not be confused with Nefertiti, who was the wife of a pharaoh of another dynasty. Ramesses was buried in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings, and succeeded by his 13th son, Merneptah. Many succeeding pharaohs took the name Ramesses in his honour. His mummified body is on display in the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo.

Ramesses II is also the famous Ozymandias of Shelley's sonnet, which ends:

"And on the pedestal these words appear: / "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: / Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" / Nothing beside remains. Round the decay / Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare / The lone and level sands stretch far away."